How a Hong Kong designer turns trash into treasure – just don’t call it upcycling
Manchester-born Francis Kirstein, owner of design studio Tectonihks, talks about creating one-of-a-kind furnishings with salvaged wood and metal
What drives your design? “I love reusing stuff but try to resist the label ‘upcycling’. It’s a trendy description but, for me, it is that I just don’t like stuff going in the bin when it still has a beauty to it.
“For example, I am working with some simple pine pallets and the wood is such a cracking material. Oak wine barrels or other timber crates are interesting, too, especially those with stamps from famous chateaux. They continue their story in something totally new.”
Tell us how you transformed a wine barrel into a dog’s bed. “It was something of an experiment. My wife is in the wine business and one of her clients sent me a couple of barrels. The oak is very beautiful. I cut it in half, dried it out and after shaping it, applied a natural lacquer. We have a dog and I liked the idea of an unusual bed for him.”